Mat Cardoza of GaDOE Communications reported that the TRL was developed to help facilitate teachers when they look for digital materials for students to use, based on their academic performance. By using the TRL, the state can quickly find those resources the students need to excel in the classroom.

There are 18,000 digital resources currently that make up the TRL, based on Georgia standards for K-12 teachers, Cardoza said. Every teacher has the same information coming from the same knowledge base.

State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge said, "These kinds of tools are invaluable because they save our teachers a tremendous amount of time and will ultimately help our students be college and career ready because they are getting the best instruction possible."

COVINGTON, Ga. -- The Newton County Board of Education is working hard to find a replacement for school system superintendent Dr. Gary Mathews.

Thirty-four people have applied for the position. Board members are now trying to determine which of the applicants they wish to interview.

Chairwoman Abigail Coggin described the selection process as "the most important decision we make as a school board ... we know our decision will directly impact the future of Newton County Schools and its students."

Mathews announced his retirement late last year. Six of the people who have applied to replace him are sitting school superintendents. Other candidates include principals, associate superintendents, a retired teacher, an assistant professor, a Race to the Top director and a chief human resources officer.

OXFORD, Ga. -- An Oxford College assistant professor has made it his mission to bring Shakespeare to diverse audiences beyond his Newton County classroom.

Kevin Quarmby and his colleague, Emory University English professor Sheila Cavanagh, have embarked on a tour of their World Shakespeare Project to take the Bard to new locations.

During this year's spring break, Cavanagh and Quarmby gave a Shakespeare presentation at Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. They met with English and theater students to test classroom technology and make sure it would support video interaction with their respective classrooms in Atlanta and Oxford.

Quarmby and Cavanagh also plan to teach a Maymester Shakespeare course at La Fundación Shakespeare Argentina, but their current focus is to connect with Native Americans.

ATLANTA -- Emory's main undergraduate division says it received a record number of applicants for fall 2013 admittance.

The Emory College of Arts and Sciences says it received 17,652, up from the previous high last year of 17,493. The target enrollment for the class is 1,350.

The application pool included a record number of early decision applicants. Applications for the first early decision deadline were up 10 percent over last year, and applications for the second early decision deadline were up 16 percent. Nearly half the class is expected to enroll via early decision.

Emory dean of admission John Latting says the prospective students' ACT and SAT scores suggest the applicant pool is also stronger than last year's.

COVINGTON, Ga. -- Four Newton County schools have been named Title I High Progress Reward Schools.

The honor is given annually to the top 10 percent of Georgia's Title I public schools that are making the most progress in standardized test scores and graduation rates across their entire student bodies.

"Our schools continue to make academic progress as we're reminded of this once again by the Georgia Department of Education with this latest 2013 recognition of two of our elementary schools and two of our high schools," superintendent Dr. Gary Mathews said in a statement.

COVINGTON, Ga. -- All three of Newton County's high schools are among the 2012 AP STEM Schools.

The honor is given annually to U.S. high schools that offer at least two Advanced Placement courses in both science and math.

Newton's AP STEM Schools are Alcovy, Eastside and Newton.

The College Board, which gives AP exams every year, reported Wednesday that Georgia is the 12th state in the nation for the percentage of seniors earning passing scores on AP tests. More than 41 percent of Georgia's seniors took at least one AP exam in 2012, compared to the U.S. average of 32.4 percent.

"Georgia's students continue to outperform most of their peers throughout the country on Advanced Placement exams," State Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Barge said in a statement. "These results show that Georgia's students can compete against any students in the nation."